Lighting a Match in the Rain

Chapter Ten

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We rode in a sputtering twenty-year-old pickup truck to school Monday morning. At least that's what it sounded like. My poor little car sounded like a choking cat every time I pressed on the gas.

"Are you out of gas?" Macey questioned me, her brows scrunched with worry.

I glanced down at the meter even though I already knew where it would be sitting. "I filled it up last night. We have a full tank," I informed her.

We both prayed in silence as I drove up the road, acting as if the action of us not talking about the problem would give the car strength to make it a few minutes longer. When we were about half a mile from school, it took a sharper turn for the worst and started humming loudly over the sputtering sound. "Nope, nope, nope," my sister chanted. "We are not going to break down. I repeat we are not going to break down!"

I gritted my teeth. "Macey, I can't exactly control this situation. I'm not making the car break down because I want it to break down."

"I'm just trying to speak it into existence."

Fortunately, we made it into the school parking lot, and I was able to park in a spot lined close to the entrance. We were running later than usual, so it was a surprise to see a spot in this line open. When I looked around further, I realized there were a lot more spots open than usual. Weird.

Turning off the ignition, I climbed out of the car. Macey didn't move. Her black seatbelt remained secured across her chest and her eyes wandered around the school door. "You coming?" I asked her.

I watched her head tilt down as she glanced down at her appearance before looking back up to the same place. "Can you just take me back home?" she offered the idea instead.

Furrowing my brows, I looked up to where she had drawn her attention to. A boy and girl were talking near the front entrance. They looked to be around her age. The girl was pretty, blonde, and dressed to impress while the boy appeared to be flirting with her. "You know him?"

Her head bobbed. "Both of them. It's TJ and Kelly.

"Ah, potential boyfriend TJ." I was proud of myself for remembering his name. Usually, I could hardly keep up with her drama. Realizing a chat was much needed, I climbed back in the car and closed the door, though not bothering to restart the ignition.

Her chest rose and fell as she watched me get back in the car with her and her shoulders visibly relaxed. "I wouldn't say potential," she spoke up again. "He only likes pretty girls."

"Pretty girls? Macey, did he tell you that you weren't pretty? Did someone actually tell you that?" Her silence answered my question and I shook my head in disbelief. "Macey, you are beyond pretty."

"Not as pretty as her," she refuted. I could hear the deflation in her tone, the insecurities leaking out of her downturned lips.

"Why do you think that?" The thought of Macey thinking she was the ugliest girl in her class broke my heart in two. I spent every minute of every day trying to make sure that Macey learned from my mistakes instead of having to go down the same left roads that I did.

She waved a hand at them. "Look at her. She's got long blonde hair, a perfect body. She's a cheerleader..."

I nodded once, knowing exactly where she was going to end up. "And you've got short brown hair, grey eyes, and apparently a not-perfect body?"

"Exactly."

I breathed, looking away from the teens outside. "Macey...I'm not just telling you that you are gorgeous because you look like me," I joked, trying to pull a smile on her face. It didn't work. "You don't have to be blonde to be pretty. I think brunettes are flat-out gorgeous too. And every other hair color for that matter. Your eyes, Macey are like perfect storms. It's hard to have blue eyes as tinted as yours to appear grey. They are unique and mysterious, and something you have that not everyone can say that they do, too. And your body, Macey, you have more curves than I do, and you are three years younger." I laughed. "I've been jealous that you got the good genes ever since you developed properly and I didn't."